| Apollonia 6 is the first and only album by Apollonia 6, a group put together and effectively run by Prince (as a replacement for Vanity 6), and was released on 1 October 1984, following Apollonia 6’s appearance in the Purple Rain movie, where they performed Sex Shooter.
The album was produced by Prince under the pseudonym The Starr* Company, and production credit was shared (erroneously) with Apollonia 6.
All of the seven songs were written or co-written by Prince, but credit was given to the band members and to various members of The Revolution.
Sessions and compiling
By August 1983, Prince had recorded several songs for a second album by Vanity 6, including Sex Shooter, Promise To Be True, Vibrator and Wet Dream Cousin. G-Spot and 17 Days were also recorded around that time, but it is not certain they were fully considered for a sophomore Vanity 6 album.
Vanity left the Prince camp in late July 1983 and was not going to be in the movie Purple Rain. When Prince recruited Apollonia to replace her, Vanity 6 became Apollonia 6 and the sophomore Vanity 6 album became the debut by Apollonia 6. However, except for Sex Shooter recorded in April 1983, all other songs tentatively recorded for a Vanity 6 follow-up album were discarded.
A Million Miles (I Love You), Ooo She She Wa Wa, Some Kind Of Lover and In A Spanish Villa were all recorded in February 1984, at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California. Blue Limousine was recorded in April 1984, also recorded at Sunset Sound. The last track recorded for the album was Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian, recorded in August 1984, at the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, Eden Prairie, MN, USA.
Early project
Several other tracks were originally considered or planned for the album, but Prince lost interest in the project during the process of recording, and withdrew the following tracks:
Promotion
The album produced two singles, Sex Shooter (which preceded the album) and Blue Limousine, but Apollonia 6 did not tour to support the album, and Apollonia made it clear to Prince that her career goals did not involve staying with the group.
There was a plan to make videos for every song on the album, but it appears that only a short film titled Mr. Christian’s Birthday with videos for Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian, Sex Shooter, Blue Limousine and Ooo She She Wa Wa was filmed before the whole project was canceled.
The album reached number 62 on the US Billboard 200 Chart, and number 24 on the Billboard Soul LP’s Chart.
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1984: A Private Heaven ◄
